Possession
by pixelblur
Summary: They say that dying affords someone clarity. Considering Church had already died once, you would have thought he'd be a more enlightened individual. But it's not until the second time around that the truth finally hits him - and having your entire existence thrown into question is far more terrifying than death. Well, at least he still manages to go out with a bang. (Pairing: Chex)


_"How much time do you need?"_

_Wash kept his gaze fixed on the Meta. "Whatever you can get me. When the E.M.P. goes off-" he began warningly, but Church cut him off._

_"When it goes off, I'll be fine. It only affects computers, remember? And I am a motherfucking ghost."_

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Church grinned cockily behind his translucent visor before rushing forward and possessing the Meta.

Immediately, everything felt wrong.

By now, he was practically a pro at this. He'd possessed Caboose on a number of occasions, and even if the people there hadn't made any sense, at least the layout had. Not so here. Hell, even Wash, however dark and tortured his mind was, couldn't hold a candle to what the inside of the Meta's head.

It defied all logic. Jutting shadows stuck out at impossible angles, the objects and lights casting them indiscernible. The floor blended seamlessly with the walls, making him feel as if he was standing on nothing. Maybe he was. Time seemed to ripple and pulse around him, any given moment feeling like both a second and a day. He thought he saw something in the corner of his eye, a blurry white figure skulking at the edge of the shadows, snarling as furiously as a caged animal. He whipped his head towards it, but it vanished from sight.

He swallowed dryly as he took a hesitant step, worrying that he would fall forever into the uniform nothingness that stretched beneath him. It held, though, and he shuffled a little further forward, a bit more confident. He needed to find the AI. Wash needed all the time he could get.

_Alpha..._

The word seemed to tickle the back of his brain, rather than him actually hearing it. He turned slowly, eyes wide and panicked. Well, there they were - all the AI that the Meta had collected. All of them reaching towards him with a single-minded purpose.

**It's the Alpha.**

We finally _found_ him.

**_He's here._**

(It's really _him._)

Church stumbled backwards, away from the grabbing hands, away from the multitude of voices digging at his mind. They moved with him, arms and legs and torsos phasing through one another as they tried to reach him. His back hit a wall, but when he turned to look at it, it seemed like he had an infinite amount of space stretching out behind him.

Then, the AI were upon him, whispering the word 'Alpha' over and over again. "I'm not the Alpha, godammit!" he protested angrily, but he may as well have not spoken. They tried to drag their fingers along his arms, his face, anywhere they could reach, letting out bitter cries of disappointment as their ethereal digits slipped through him without resistance. Pressing himself into the invisible wall, Church shuddered. The AI were way too far into his personal space. And holy shit, were they being freaky about it.

His eyes scanned the horde of fragments, looking for a figure in dark armour. Finally, he found her, standing with her left side through a creepy purple kid-like AI and her hip sticking through Delta's waist. Heart sinking, he realised she was reaching for him exactly like the others were.

"Tex?" His voice cracked, at least an octave above its usual surly tenor. "Tex, c'mon, knock it off. You gotta help me out here."

Either she was flat-out ignoring him, or was so far absorbed into the Meta now that she didn't even recognise her own name. It wouldn't be first time that the former had happened, and he didn't want to even consider the implications of the latter.

"Tex, seriously, cut it out." His voice rose a fraction as the AI pressed closer. When he looked down, he couldn't even see himself through the purple lights and the green glow and the orange flames. Tex's hand went through his visor and something flickered in the back of his mind. "Stop it, Allison."

The effect was instantaneous. All the AIs backed off, hunching over, muttering her name. Tex pulled her arm out of his face - which was unsettling, to say the least - and stood before him. Church had no idea what was happening, but he was going to roll with it if it kept the AI away from him. "Allison," he repeated firmly. "...Please."

Tex seemed to shudder out of existence for a moment, then reappeared, the fragments surrounding her still clutching at their heads. "Church..." she sighed, the word almost a question. Something trembled, and it felt like someone was starting to squeeze him from all directions, but he didn't care.

He grinned tiredly, smugly proud that he'd been able to break through to her. "Yeah, I'm here."

Her helmet dipped, her shoulders slumping sadly as the pressure built up. "...Goodbye."

Church frowned, opening his mouth to respond, but the increasing weight of his surroundings forced the air from his dead lungs and his ears were filled with white noise and his lips wouldn't move and a sharp spike of fear and clarity shot through him as he realised that Wash had been right after all–

The last thing he saw before everything went a numbing white was Tex.


End file.
